This invention relates generally to the art of hanging framed items, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for precisely positioning a picture or other framed item on a wall.
The accurate placement of pictures or other framed items on a wall within a dwelling such as a home or office has long been a problem. This problem is accentuated by the practice of having a hanging mechanism on the rear or back surface of a framed item. Various hanging mechanisms exist within the art. Normally such mechanisms comprise a wire which is suspended from both ends of the frame. Frequently, however, the hanging mechanism may be a rigid metallic loop or serrated surface for association with a picture hanging device, such as a nail, attached to a wall.
Rarely, if ever, do any two framed items have the same distance between the top surface of the frame and the point of placement of the hanging mechanism on the frame. For this reason various attempts have been made to routinize the art of picture hanging.
One such device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,516,165 to Pfeffer. The apparatus described and claimed therein is basically a linear device adapted to be vertically oriented with a hanging mechanism on one side thereof and a marking mechanism on the other. The device is operated by associating the hanging mechanism of a framed item with the hanging device of the hanging apparatus for movement about the room in order to locate a desired location. When a desired location is found the linear support is retained in position while the framed item is removed therefrom. The marking device on the rear portion of the apparatus is engaged with the wall to place a mark for the appropriate location of a hanging device. While this apparatus simplifies many of the problems associated with picture hanging it does not solve the problem associated with hanging a plurality of pictures or other framed items.